3of2524. International Affairs
Median wage early career: $45,000
Median wage mid-career: $75,000
Unemployment rate: 4.7%
Underemployment rate: 49.7%
"International affairs, also known as international relations, introduces students to the study of foreign policy, international law, diplomacy, and political theories across countries. This research-oriented field can lead to careers in government agencies, foreign service, think tanks, law, academia, and more. Almost half of international affairs majors are underemployed and the unemployment rate is higher than bachelor’s degrees overall."
(HeyTutor.com)
Photo: Scott Mullin, For Hearst Connecticut Media

4of2523. General Business
Median wage early career: $45,000
Median wage mid-career: $70,000
Unemployment rate: 3.7%
Underemployment rate: 56.4%
"While finance or accounting majors are more specific, general business majors undertake a more holistic course of study which may include economics, accounting, and business organization. General business majors can be employed in a variety of settings and might secure jobs as consultants, general managers, sales representatives, or analysts."
(HeyTutor.com)
(Dreamstime)Photo: Dreamstime, TNS

13of2514. Finance
Median wage early career: $52,000
Median wage mid-career: $85,000
Unemployment rate: 3.5%
Underemployment rate: 37.0%
"A major in finance is an excellent path for students who want to be investment bankers, brokers, or financial consultants. At the baccalaureate level, a finance curriculum usually includes topics such as accounting, asset and debt management, budgeting, and portfolio management. One of the most lucrative non-STEM fields on this list, finance majors have a mid-career median wage of $85,000."
(HeyTutor.com)
(Photo by Spencer Platt/Getty Images)Photo: Spencer Platt / Getty Images

16of2511. Business Analyst
Median wage early career: $57,000
Median wage mid-career: $88,000
Unemployment rate: 3.8%
Underemployment rate: 37.5%
"Everyone works with data these days. In fact, for the past three years, Glassdoor has ranked “Data Scientist” as the top job in the U.S. A degree in business analytics is a great start for students interested in working as data scientists, business analysts, or market researchers."
(HeyTutor.com)
Photo: BTO Educational

17of2510. Miscellaneous Engineering
Median wage early career: $60,000
Median wage mid-career: $85,000
Unemployment rate: 4.3%
Underemployment rate: 29.4%
"Miscellaneous engineering is a catch-all category for other engineering majors not classified by the National Center for Education Statistics. An example of such a major would be renewable energy engineering."
(HeyTutor.com)

19of258. General Engineering
Median wage early career: $60,000
Median wage mid-career: $88,000
Unemployment rate: 5.0%
Underemployment rate: 23.5%
"Students who enroll in a general engineering program learn mathematical and scientific theories that can be used to solve technical problems related to fields as diverse as technology, construction, public works, and commerce. The median early career wage of $60,000 is 50 percent higher than the median early career wage of all bachelor degree holders."
Photo: Tony Gaines/ HCN, HCN

21of255. Industrial Engineering
Median wage early career: $64,000
Median wage mid-career: $87,000
Unemployment rate: 3.4%
Underemployment rate: 17.3%
"This major uses advanced mathematics and science to create systems and processes that will improve the efficiency and integration of people, materials, natural resources, information, and energy. The curriculum usually includes a combination of applied mathematics, physical sciences, social sciences, engineering, systems design, and computer science. A bachelor’s in industrial engineering can lead to a career as a quality engineer, operations analyst, or industrial engineer."

22of254. Aerospace Engineering
Median wage early career: $64,000
Median wage mid-career: $100,000
Unemployment rate: 4.1%
Underemployment rate: 26.8%
"Students in this discipline are likely to study a variety of science courses, such as chemistry, physics, math, and computer programming, to understand the mechanics of flight and the process of controlling air and space vessels. This major usually leads to careers such as aerospace engineering or a spacecraft design."
(HeyTutor.com)
Photo: Tim Fischer/Midland Reporter-Telegram

23of253. Electrical Engineering
Median wage early career: $65,000
Median wage mid-career: $100,000
Unemployment rate: 4.6%
Underemployment rate: 22.3%
"Electrical engineering students study the application of electricity, electronics, and electromagnetism to produce and transfer energy. Students who pursue this discipline often become electrical engineers and are prepared to do electrical work on a macro or micro scale. Electrical engineers can work on systems as large as electrical power generation systems or as small as microchips."
(HeyTutor.com)
Photo: San Jacinto College

24of252. Computer Engineering
Median wage early career: $65,000
Median wage mid-career: $106,000
Unemployment rate: 2.5%
Underemployment rate: 20.1%
"While computer science is more focused on data storage and processing, computer engineering is best described as the intersection of computer science and electrical engineering. At $106,000, the computer engineering major has the highest mid-career median wage on this list."
(HeyTutor.com)Photo: Franchon Smith, The Chronicle

"At $68,000, chemical engineering has the highest early career median wage. Undergraduates enrolled in a chemical engineering program learn how to use chemistry, physics, mathematics, and biology to efficiently develop, transform, and transport chemicals, materials, and energy."
(HeyTutor.com)

The information says that full-time workers with a bachelor's degree have a median annual salary of $60,996. Meanwhile, high school graduates that didn't go to college earn $37,024 per year

The data collected by the National Center for Education Research shows that the cost of college tuition is on the upswing, and student loan debts are increasing.

Those who have received a high school diploma have an unemployment rate of 4.6 percent. However, individuals who have earned a bachelor's degree or above have unemployment rates below 2.5 percent

The most-recent U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data comes from the 2016–17 academic year. During that time period Colleges awarded a record 1.96 million bachelor's degrees.

The most popular majors were associated with business (381,000 degrees), health professions (238,000 degrees), social sciences and history (159,000 degrees), psychology (117,000 degrees), biological and biomedical sciences (117,000 degrees), and engineering (116,000 degrees).

However, even college professors argue that one's college major is not the be-all end-all.

While field of study is important, it does not control one's financial destiny—there is great variation in earnings within majors," Georgetown University by Dr. Anthony P. Carnevale and Dr. Ban Cheah said in a recent study.

Above, you can click through and see the top 25 majors with the highest-paying salaries according to that study from HeyTutor.

The company analyzed data from the U.S. Census Bureau and the National Center for Education Statistics. HeyTutor looked at the median early career wage, median mid-career wage, unemployment rate, and underemployment rate of the most common undergraduate majors.

Peter Dawson is a data reporter for the Houston Chronicle's digital team.

Before joining the Chronicle, Peter worked at the Fort Worth Star-Telegram as a digital sports reporter, where he covered professional, college and high school sports in DFW and the state of Texas. He also had stints at MontanaSports.com and Inside Carolina.